Bargarh: Fed up with the apathy of the administration, a widow of Bardol village here in this district sought euthanasia for herself and her ailing son Monday.
Failing to avail treatment for her bed-ridden son even after running from pillar to post, the widow, Prabhati Barik, wife of late Souri Barik, approached District Collector Indramani Tripathy and submitted a written memorandum. In the absence of the DM, the widow submitted the memorandum in the DM’s office.
Prabhati has a daughter, Tara (40) and son Muna (35). With no agricultural land of their own, the family ekes out a living by working as daily labourers.
After much struggle, the widow had managed to get her daughter married. But the irony is the problem did not end there as her son-in-law passed away just a few years after the marriage. Since then, Tara lives with the family.
Adding to their woes, her son Muna, the only breadearner in the family, was disabled after he fell down from a tree. With no support from the administration, the widow sold her land and mortgaged all her jewelleries to admit Muna in hospitals.
However, there was no improvement in his health condition even after admitting him to Bargarh district headquarters hospital and Burla-based VSS Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR).
Since then, Muna is bed-ridden. Due to financial constraints, the widow is failing to get proper treatment for Muna. She has been running from pillar to post to seek help from the administration, however, no one pays heed to her plight. Despite repeated pleas, no one cares to listen to her pleas.
“My son was the only bread earner. While the plight of my daughter did not end, the condition of my son is now worrying me. I have approached the DM several times, but no one is ready to listen to me,” said the widow as she submitted the memorandum.
Locals sympathised with the condition of Prabhati and demanded the administration to provide help as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the collector could not be reached for his comments.